Attend a free outdoor screening of a classic film (pictured Skyfall screening at Fordham Park at the NXDfff 2013)
© New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival

When you think of the word ‘film festival’, screenings and Q&As are generally what comes to mind, right? Well the New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival is so much more. Shockingly, the London borough of Lewisham doesn’t have any cinemas so this annual event provides residents to finally get the chance to watch movies in a grander setting than their front room.

Now in its third year, the NXDfff is bigger than ever, with 35 events taking place in 23 venues over nine days. The variety in events mean there will be something for everyone and the beauty of the festival is it’s all free.

Local buildings such as the The Hill Station, The Amersham Arms and Sanford Housing Co-Op will be transformed into pop-up cinemas for the predominantly evening events, with daytime screenings on during the weekends. Fordham Park in New Cross will be hosting bike-powered screenings of Attack The Block (Sat 26th) followed by a DJ set, while Telegraph Hill Park will have a bike-powered singalong of classic musical Grease (Fri 3rd).

One quirky feature on the line-up is Ping Pong, a film about octogenarian ping pong players, which will be screened at Old Tidemill School in Deptford (Sun 4th). Other highlights include Stateless – a mini festival within the festival (Wed 30th) – featuring screenings exploring the meaning of statelessness and a triple bill of films curated by London’s Film Africa Festival (Sat 26th). There will also be an experimental documentary screening of Surname Viet, Given Name Nam in the open air on 6mm film in Deptford’s Douglas Square (Wed 30th). No doubt proving a popular draw will be a screening of Coen Brothers classic O Brother, Where Art Thou? in Old Deptford Police Station – how fitting! – with live music from Danny & The Moonlighters and The Hellfire Orchestra (Fri 2nd).

• This year’s New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival runs from Friday 25 April to Sunday 4 May 2014. Full programme details of all screenings can be found on www.freefilmfestivals.org.